2012 Premier League Darts Explained

2012 McCoy's Premier League Darts
Winner
Phil Taylor
Runner-up
Simon Whitlock
Score
10–7
Date
9 February–17 May 2012
Edition
8th
Number of players
8
Venues
15
Nine Dart Finish
Phil Taylor Simon Whitlock
Premier League Darts
	2012	2013 >

The 2012 McCoy's Premier League Darts was a darts tournament organised by the Professional Darts Corporation; the eighth edition of the tournament. The event began at the Manchester Arena in Manchester on 9 February, and ended at The O₂ Arena in London on 17 May.

The format was a double round robin tournament with the top 4 finishers moving on to the play-offs. Each league match was played best of 14 legs. If a player won his eighth leg before the 14th leg, no further legs were played after this point. Two points were awarded for a win and one point awarded for a draw.

Phil Taylor won his sixth and final Premier League title by defeating Simon Whitlock 10–7 in the final.^[1] The two men who contested the final were also the players to throw nine-dart finishes during the tournament. Taylor's came in week 2 against Kevin Painter and Whitlock threw his during his semi-final win against Andy Hamilton.

The 2012 Premier League final between Phil Taylor and Simon Whitlock, which took place on 17 May 2012, was the last darts match that Sid Waddell commentated on before his death of bowel cancer on 11 August 2012.

Qualification

The PDC's top four players following the Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship on 3 January qualified by right to compete in the Premier League Darts 2012, and were joined by four wild card selections. Two being chosen by the PDC and two being chosen by broadcasters Sky Sports. The line-up was confirmed on 3 January 2012. Andy Hamilton and Kevin Painter made their debut Premier League appearances as wildcard entries.^[2]

Player	Appearance in Premier League	Consecutive Streak	Previous best performance	Order of Merit Ranking
Phil Taylor	8th	8	Winner (2005–08, 2010)	1
	5th	3	Runner-up (2011)	2
James Wade	5th	5	Winner (2009)	3
Gary Anderson	2nd	2	Winner (2011)	4
Simon Whitlock WC	3rd	3	Semi-finals (2010)	5
Raymond van Barneveld WC	7th	7	Semi-finals (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011)	9
Andy Hamilton WC	1st	1	Debut	7
Kevin Painter WC	1st	1	Debut	10

WC = Wild Card

Venues

Fifteen venues were used for the 2012 Premier League, with the only change being Dublin becoming the first venue from outside the United Kingdom to host a night of the Premier League.^[3]

Manchester	Aberdeen	Belfast	Exeter	Brighton
Manchester Arena 9 February	AECC 16 February	Odyssey Arena 23 February	Westpoint Arena 1 March	Brighton Centre 8 March

Glasgow	Dublin	Cardiff	Nottingham	Sheffield
SECC 15 March	The O₂ 22 March	Motorpoint Arena 29 March	Capital FM Arena 5 April	Motorpoint Arena 12 April

Bournemouth	Liverpool	Birmingham	Newcastle upon Tyne	London
Bournemouth International Centre 19 April	Echo Arena 26 April	National Indoor Arena 3 May	Metro Radio Arena 10 May	The O₂ Arena 17 May

Prize money

The prize money was increased to £450,000 from £410,000 in 2011, but the highest checkout bonus was withdrawn, and the third place play-off was removed as well.^[4]

Stage	Prize Money
Winner	£150,000
Runner-up	£70,000
Semi-finalists (x2)	£50,000
5th place	£40,000
6th place	£35,000
7th place	£30,000
8th place	£25,000

Total	£450,000

Results

League stage

The fixtures were announced on 16 January 2012.^[5] ^[6]

9 February – week 1

MEN Arena, Manchester

width=225	Player	width=50	Legs	width=225	Player
^[7]
Andy Hamilton 98.90	8 – 5	James Wade 91.20
Simon Whitlock 95.80	7 – 7	Raymond van Barneveld 102.58
Kevin Painter 82.67	8 – 6	Gary Anderson 80.84
Adrian Lewis 104.05	7 – 7	Phil Taylor 112.79
High Checkout: Adrian Lewis 138

16 February – week 2

AECC, Aberdeen

width=225	Player	width=50	Legs	width=225	Player
^[8]
Adrian Lewis 99.32	7 – 7	Raymond van Barneveld 94.70
Gary Anderson 84.98	8 – 2	Andy Hamilton 84.28
Phil Taylor 108.27	8 – 5	Kevin Painter 97.00
Simon Whitlock 96.27	8 – 4	James Wade 96.08
High Checkout: Phil Taylor 147

23 February – week 3

Odyssey Arena, Belfast

width=225	Player	width=50	Legs	width=225	Player
^[9]
Kevin Painter 92.03	8 – 3	Simon Whitlock 91.63
Andy Hamilton 94.53	7 – 7	Adrian Lewis 92.29
Gary Anderson 102.20	8 – 5	James Wade 95.29
Raymond van Barneveld 105.93	4 – 8	Phil Taylor 112.91
High Checkout: Raymond van Barneveld 145

1 March – Week 4

Westpoint Arena, Exeter

width=225	Player	width=50	Legs	width=225	Player
^[10]
Kevin Painter 91.11	6 – 8	James Wade 89.47
Raymond van Barneveld 98.30	8 – 6	Andy Hamilton 91.25
Simon Whitlock 105.44	4 – 8	Phil Taylor 117.35
Gary Anderson 93.47	8 – 1	Adrian Lewis 86.23
High Checkout: Kevin Painter & James Wade 118

8 March – Week 5

Brighton Centre, Brighton

width=225	Player	width=50	Legs	width=225	Player
^[11]
Kevin Painter 93.00	8 – 5	Andy Hamilton 93.64
Phil Taylor 99.89	8 – 1	Gary Anderson 95.02
James Wade 96.71	8 – 6	Raymond van Barneveld 97.87
Simon Whitlock 96.05	8 – 4	Adrian Lewis 92.35
High Checkout: James Wade 154

15 March – Week 6

SECC, Glasgow

width=225	Player	width=50	Legs	width=225	Player
^[12]
James Wade 96.70	8 – 5	Adrian Lewis 98.59
Gary Anderson 90.83	6 – 8	Simon Whitlock 97.49
Phil Taylor 106.05	8 – 3	Andy Hamilton 96.39
Raymond van Barneveld 95.37	8 – 5	Kevin Painter 92.45
High Checkout: Simon Whitlock 164

22 March – Week 7

The O₂, Dublin

width=225	Player	width=50	Legs	width=225	Player
^[13]
Andy Hamilton 97.10	7 – 7	Simon Whitlock 96.74
Adrian Lewis 94.11	8 – 3	Kevin Painter 88.25
Raymond van Barneveld 107.22	8 – 5	Gary Anderson 105.40
Phil Taylor 107.25	8 – 2	James Wade 102.07
High Checkout: Simon Whitlock 152

29 March – Week 8

Cardiff International Arena, Cardiff^[14] ^[15]

width=225	Player	width=50	Legs	width=225	Player
^[16]
Adrian Lewis 98.03	4 – 8	Andy Hamilton 95.33
James Wade 96.97	8 – 0	Simon Whitlock 80.79
Kevin Painter 92.33	2 – 8	Phil Taylor 113.30
Raymond van Barneveld 92.98	2 – 8	Adrian Lewis 99.98
High Checkout: Adrian Lewis 160

5 April – Week 9

Capital FM Arena, Nottingham

width=225	Player	width=50	Legs	width=225	Player
^[17]
Kevin Painter 100.08	6 – 8	Raymond van Barneveld 112.28
Adrian Lewis 104.70	8 – 5	James Wade 89.04
Andy Hamilton 97.43	6 – 8	Phil Taylor 103.68
Simon Whitlock 101.09	8 – 2	Gary Anderson 94.42
High Checkout: Gary Anderson 143

12 April – week 10

Motorpoint Arena, Sheffield^[18] ^[15]

width=225	Player	width=50	Legs	width=225	Player
^[19]
James Wade 101.02	8 – 3	Gary Anderson 95.40
Simon Whitlock 103.43	8 – 5	Kevin Painter 94.22
Phil Taylor 105.02	8 – 3	Raymond van Barneveld 100.53
Gary Anderson 95.94	7 – 7	Andy Hamilton 92.36
High Checkout: Phil Taylor & Andy Hamilton 124

19 April – week 11

Bournemouth International Centre, Bournemouth

width=225	Player	width=50	Legs	width=225	Player
^[20]
Raymond van Barneveld 88.77	4 – 8	Simon Whitlock 89.75
Gary Anderson 85.01	4 – 8	Kevin Painter 90.65
James Wade 99.30	7 – 7	Andy Hamilton 100.41
Phil Taylor 98.85	5 – 8	Adrian Lewis 101.90
High Checkout: Adrian Lewis 160

26 April – week 12

Echo Arena, Liverpool

width=225	Player	width=50	Legs	width=225	Player
^[21]
James Wade 97.07	7 – 7	Kevin Painter 99.14
Phil Taylor 104.41	8 – 3	Simon Whitlock 100.23
Andy Hamilton 95.71	7 – 7	Raymond van Barneveld 95.71
Adrian Lewis 98.15	7 – 7	Gary Anderson 99.26
High Checkout: Adrian Lewis 170

3 May – week 13

National Indoor Arena, Birmingham

width=225	Player	width=50	Legs	width=225	Player
^[22]
Simon Whitlock 97.46	4 – 8	Andy Hamilton 95.43
Gary Anderson 98.40	7 – 7	Raymond van Barneveld 96.35
Kevin Painter 96.04	8 – 3	Adrian Lewis 96.47
James Wade 93.55	1 – 8	Phil Taylor 116.10
High Checkout: Raymond van Barneveld 170

10 May – week 14

Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle upon Tyne

width=225	Player	width=50	Legs	width=225	Player
^[23]
Andy Hamilton 90.86	8 – 1	Kevin Painter 89.51
Gary Anderson 96.08	7 – 7	Phil Taylor 105.41
Raymond van Barneveld 94.86	7 – 7	James Wade 96.99
Adrian Lewis 94.70	6 – 8	Simon Whitlock 96.19
High Checkout: Raymond van Barneveld & Gary Anderson 161

Play-offs – 17 May

The O₂ Arena, London

width=220		width=50	Score	width=220

Semi-finals (best of 15 legs)
Phil Taylor 99.32	8 – 6	James Wade 97.23
Simon Whitlock 96.59	8 – 6	Andy Hamilton 95.62
Final (best of 19 legs)
Phil Taylor 97.08	10 – 7	Simon Whitlock 95.32
High Checkout: Phil Taylor 149 (Semi-final)

Table and streaks

Table

^[6]

Pos

width=200

Name

Pld

Pts

+/-

LWAT

100+

140+

180s

A^[24]

107

+51

147

–1

164

152

–6

154

−11

170

–8

170

–12

157

–13

161Top four qualified for the Play-offs after Week 14.
NB: LWAT = Legs Won Against Throw. A = AverageHC = High checkout.Players separated by +/- leg difference if tied. If leg difference is equal the table is sorted by the player's LWAT.^[25]

Streaks

Player	League Stage														Play-offs
Player	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	SF	F


												colspan=1 rowspan=2

											colspan=2 rowspan=4

Legend:		Win		Draw		Loss		Did not play

Player statistics

The following statistics are for the league stage only. Playoffs are not included.

Phil Taylor

Longest unbeaten run: 10
Most consecutive wins: 9
Most consecutive draws: 1
Most consecutive losses: 1
Longest without a win: 1
Biggest victory: 8–1 (v. Gary Anderson and v. James Wade)
Biggest defeat: 5–8 (v. Adrian Lewis)

Simon Whitlock

Longest unbeaten run: 3
Most consecutive wins: 3
Most consecutive draws: 1
Most consecutive losses: 2
Longest without a win: 2
Biggest victory: 8–2 (v. Gary Anderson)
Biggest defeat: 0–8 (v. James Wade)

Andy Hamilton

Longest unbeaten run: 5
Most consecutive wins: 2
Most consecutive draws: 3
Most consecutive losses: 3
Longest without a win: 6
Biggest victory: 8–1 (v. Kevin Painter)
Biggest defeat: 2–8 (v. Gary Anderson)

James Wade

Longest unbeaten run: 3
Most consecutive wins: 3
Most consecutive draws: 2
Most consecutive losses: 3
Longest without a win: 4
Biggest victory: 8–0 (v. Simon Whitlock)
Biggest defeat: 1–8 (v. Phil Taylor)

Raymond van Barneveld

Longest unbeaten run: 3
Most consecutive wins: 2
Most consecutive draws: 3
Most consecutive losses: 2
Longest without a win: 5
Biggest victory: 8–5 (v. Gary Anderson and v. Kevin Painter)
Biggest defeat: 2–8 (v. Adrian Lewis)

Adrian Lewis

Longest unbeaten run: 4
Most consecutive wins: 3
Most consecutive draws: 3
Most consecutive losses: 3
Longest without a win: 6
Biggest victory: 8–2 (v. Raymond van Barneveld)
Biggest defeat: 1–8 (v. Gary Anderson)

Kevin Painter

Longest unbeaten run: 3
Most consecutive wins: 1
Most consecutive draws: 1
Most consecutive losses: 5
Longest without a win: 5
Biggest victory: 8–3 (v. Simon Whitlock and v. Adrian Lewis)
Biggest defeat: 1–8 (v. Andy Hamilton)

Gary Anderson

Longest unbeaten run: 3
Most consecutive wins: 3
Most consecutive draws: 3
Most consecutive losses: 5
Longest without a win: 10
Biggest victory: 8–1 (v. Adrian Lewis)
Biggest defeat: 1–8 (v. Phil Taylor)

Charity single

The 2012 Premier League Darts players teamed up with the singer Chas Hodges and his band to record a charity single written by Chas called "Got My Tickets for the Darts". The video features Chas, his band, the 2012 Premier League Darts players and walk-on girl Jacqui Adams. The song was released exclusively on iTunes on Friday 18 May, the night after the play-offs at the O2 in London, where it was premiered. Proceeds from the single was donated to the Haven House Children's Hospice.^[26]

External links

Notes and References

Web site: Taylor's McCoy's Premier League Joy . . 17 May 2012 . 18 May 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120521113607/http://www.pdc.tv/page/NewsdeskDetail/0,,10180~2775584,00.html . 21 May 2012 . dead.
Web site: Hamilton & Painter's Premier Delight. PDC. 3 January 2012. 3 January 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120108181725/http://www.pdc.tv/page/NewsdeskDetail/0,,10180~2565358,00.html. 8 January 2012. dead.
Web site: 2012 Premier League Darts Tickets. Planet Darts. 29 September 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20111001132902/http://www.pdc.tv/page/NewsdeskDetail/0,,10180~2464648,00.html. 1 October 2011. dead.
Web site: Hamilton & Painter's Premier Delight . . 3 January 2012 . 3 January 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120108181725/http://www.pdc.tv/page/NewsdeskDetail/0,,10180~2565358,00.html . 8 January 2012 . dead.
Web site: McCoy's Premier League Fixtures. Planet Darts. 16 January 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120119005825/http://www.pdc.tv/page/PremierLeagueDetail/0,,10180~2578757,00.html. 19 January 2012. dead.
Web site: McCoy's Premier League Darts: table, fixtures and results . . 11 February 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160304023413/http://news.williamhill.com/en/a/todays-highlights/mccoys-premier-league-darts-table-fixtures-and-results/ . 4 March 2016 . dead .
Web site: McCoy's Premier League Darts – Night One Round-Up . . 10 February 2012 . 10 February 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120212021301/http://www.pdc.tv/page/NewsdeskDetail/0,,10180~2605896,00.html . 12 February 2012 . dead.
Web site: McCoy's Premier League Darts – Night Two Round-Up . . 16 February 2012 . 16 February 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120218154807/http://www.pdc.tv/page/NewsdeskDetail/0,,10180~2613369,00.html . 18 February 2012 . dead.
Web site: McCoy's Premier League Darts – Night Three Round-Up . . 23 February 2012 . 24 February 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120226232112/http://www.pdc.tv/page/PremierLeagueDetail/0,,10180~2621946,00.html . 26 February 2012 . dead.
Web site: McCoy's Premier League Darts – Night Four Round-Up . . 1 March 2012 . 2 March 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120305014619/http://www.pdc.tv/page/PremierLeagueDetail/0,,10180~2630233,00.html . 5 March 2012 . dead.
Web site: McCoy's Premier League Darts – Night Five Round-Up . . 8 March 2012 . 9 March 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120313223933/http://www.pdc.tv/page/PremierLeagueDetail/0,,10180~2641781,00.html . 13 March 2012 . dead.
Web site: McCoy's PLD Night Six Round-Up . . 15 March 2012 . 16 March 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120319035551/http://www.pdc.tv/page/PremierLeagueDetail/0,,10180~2661654,00.html . 19 March 2012 . dead.
Web site: McCoy's PLD Night Seven Round-Up . . 22 March 2012 . 23 March 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120325173702/http://www.pdc.tv/page/PremierLeagueDetail/0,,10180~2689452,00.html . 25 March 2012 . dead.
Gary Anderson did not compete because he was attending the funeral of his father. Adrian Lewis played twice this week.
Web site: Anderson To Miss Cardiff . . 26 March 2012 . 26 March 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120328024251/http://www.pdc.tv/page/NewsdeskDetail/0,,10180~2693334,00.html . 28 March 2012 . dead.
Web site: McCoy's PLD Night Eight . . 29 March 2012 . 30 March 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120331193530/http://www.pdc.tv/page/NewsdeskDetail/0,,10180~2704585,00.html . 31 March 2012 . dead.
Web site: McCoy's PLD Night Nine . . 5 April 2012 . 6 April 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120407040829/http://www.pdc.tv/page/NewsdeskDetail/0,,10180~2725096,00.html . 7 April 2012 . dead.
Gary Anderson competed twice this week because of his absence in week 8. Adrian Lewis did not play this week.
Web site: McCoy's PLD Night Ten . . 12 April 2012 . 13 April 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120413205900/http://www.pdc.tv/page/NewsdeskDetail/0,,10180~2732707,00.html . 13 April 2012 . dead.
Web site: McCoy's PLD Night Eleven . . 19 April 2012 . 20 April 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120422175019/http://www.pdc.tv/page/NewsdeskDetail/0,,10180~2741291,00.html . 22 April 2012 . dead.
Web site: McCoy's PLD Night 12 . . 26 April 2012 . 26 April 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120429051610/http://www.pdc.tv/page/NewsdeskDetail/0,,10180~2750703,00.html . 29 April 2012 . dead.
Web site: McCoy's PLD Night 13 . . 3 May 2012 . 3 May 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120507041844/http://www.pdc.tv/page/NewsdeskDetail/0,,10180~2758908,00.html . 7 May 2012 . dead.
Web site: McCoy's PLD Night 14 . . 10 May 2012 . 10 May 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120513091327/http://www.pdc.tv/page/NewsdeskDetail/0,,10180~2767653,00.html . 13 May 2012 . dead.
Web site: 2012 Premier League Stats Tournament Average. Darts Database. 17 February 2012.
Web site: McCoy's Premier League Darts 2012 . Darts Mad.com . 9 February 2012 . 4 May 2012.
Web site: Chas & Stars Record Charity Single . Planet Darts . 8 March 2012 . 13 March 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120413082244/http://www.pdc.tv/page/NewsdeskDetail/0,,10180~2641173,00.html . 13 April 2012 . dead.